Policies & Procedures

MHYSC Codes of Conduct

I will teach the players fair play: respect for others and good sportsmanship.

I will set the example for good behaviour.

I will speak respectfully to players, officials & parents.

I will not yell at or ridicule my players or the referee(s).

I will recognize and reward achievements other than scoring goals.

I will inform my players' parents of any injuries their son/daughter might have suffered.

I will show up for games & practices on time.

I will take coaching clinics to further develop & improve my skills.

I will promote respect through words and actions for the rules of the game officials and their decisions including opponents, teammates and parents.

I will dress appropriately as a coach at all games and practices to set a professional image.

I will be prepared for my practices.

I will be positive & constructive in my words and actions.

I will be reasonable in scheduling of practices and extra games, always considering the families and other obligations that may arise.

I understand that there is a Zero Tolerance Policy with regards to the use of any foul, offensive, insulting, or abusive language and/or gestures or actions directed at another player, coach, referee, or parent

I also understand that if I use any foul, offensive, insulting, or abusive language and/or gestures or actions directed at another player, coach, referee, or parent, that I will be cautioned or dismissed from the game by the referee as per FIFA’s laws of the game, and possibly suspended by the club

Be subject to disciplinary action for not complying with this Code of Conduct.

MHYSC Constitution

Section 1 - Name and Affiliation:

"Mount Hamilton Youth Soccer Club" herein will be referred to as the Club.

The Club shall be affiliated with the Ontario Soccer Association (herein referred to as OSA) through the Hamilton and District Soccer Association (herein referred to as H&DSA).

The Club will conform to the Constitution and By-Laws of the OSA, unless otherwise amended at the Annual General Meeting (herein referred to as AGM).

The Club shall be incorporated under Provincial Charter.

Section 2 – Club Mission:

THE MOUNT HAMILTON YOUTH SOCCER CLUB IS:

Committed to the sport of soccer in the City of Hamilton and Will provide a safe and healthy

environment that fosters the growth of players, coaches and officials to achieve their optimum goals While promoting the values and ethics of true sportsmanship, skill development, training and encouragement.

Section 3 – Membership definition:

Adult Members: All parents and legal guardians of a current player are deemed to be adult members.

Player: A participant of organised soccer games who practices under the direction of a coach, and who has registered by paying the current season’s fees, and any previous year's fees.

Coaches: Volunteers who have signed a declaration of personal disclosure, a confidentiality agreement and in good standing within the community which may include a police checks. These volunteers shall be approved for the status of coach, assistant coach or manager by the Club.

Board of Director or a Senior Board member position holder: Members in good standing who have been elected or appointed to the Board.

Voting Members:

Members in good standing including parents, legal guardians, coaches, players (aged 18 years or over) and Board of Director position holders. The President shall exercise the voting rights solely, to break a tie vote.

Non-Voting Members:

Members under the age of 18 yrs.

Members of the Club under suspension from Mt. Hamilton and/or any other affiliated bodies.

Employees of the club

Past President

Section 4 - Election Procedure for Board of Directors:

Board of Directors:

The Board of Directors is comprised of the following positions: President, Past President, Vice President of Business and Administration, Vice President of Development and Operations, Scheduling and Field Director, Discipline Director (Competitive and Recreational), Tournament Director, Equipment Director, Micro City Operations Director, Micro / Mini Field Operations Director, Full Field Operations Director, Player Development Director and Director at Large – Development and Operations, Marketing and Communications Director, IT Director, Finance Director, Advertising and Sponsorship Director, Director at Large – Business Administration, Secretariat. The Senior Board members will be comprised of the President, Vice President of Development and Operations and the Vice President of Business and Administration.

The President and both Vice-Presidents will be members of the Board of Directors for a minimum of - two years. Other Board Directors will be Club members in good standing, for a minimum of a one-year period, prior to the election. Any person, seeking election, and not meeting the requirement must be approved by a twothirds majority vote of members at the election.

The Senior Board of Directors will meet on a monthly basis or as requested by the President. The Board of Directors will meet monthly or bi-weekly, dependant on time of year and business at hand.

Board members will report to the Senior Board monthly via the Vice Presidents and will bring any decisions and concerns to the Senior Board .

The President shall hold office for no more than three consecutive terms (6 yrs).

All Senior Board members and Board of Director members must attend a minimum of 75% of all meetings.

Election Procedure:

To be elected in EVEN years, for a two-year term.

President (Senior Director)

Vice President – Development and Operations (Senior Director)

Marketing and Communications Director

Director at Large – Development and Operations Discipline Director

Tournament Director

IT Director

Micro City Operations Director

Mini / Micro Field Operations Director

To be elected in ODD years, for a two-year term.

Vice-President – Business and Administration (Senior Director)

Finance Director

Advertising and Sponsorship Director

Director at large – Business Administration

Equipment Director

Scheduler & Field Director

Player Development Director

Full Field Operations Director

Secretariat-

The election shall be conducted by a minimum of three members of the existing Board of Directors, who are not eligible or will not run for office, in the election. (1 chair person & 2 ballot counters)

All members attending the AGM are required to sign in. Election ballots are required for voting for elected positions but changes to constitution will be decided by a show of hands.

Directors shall be elected for a two year term. The number of Directors will be determined annually based on the projected workload. Board of directors can appoint a person to assist with their tasks and responsibilities. This person can attend meetings, when the board member is unable to attend the meeting, to report to the board on the specific part of the board member’s responsibilities. This person must be approved by the rest of the board at any regular board meeting.

Another member in good standing must nominate any member running for a position on the Board of Directors. Any person in absentia, but willing to run must indicate his/her intention in writing to the Club Office.

Only voting members shall be eligible to participate in the vote. Votes by proxy are not accepted.

Election to office shall require a majority of votes cast. Where a ballot does not result in a majority vote, the candidate/candidates with the least number of votes shall be struck from the ballot, and a new vote will be taken. This procedure shall be followed until a majority vote results.

When only one nominee has declared his/her intention to run, the person shall not be voted in by acclamation. A vote shall be taken.

Vacancies created on the Board of Directors after the election, will be filled by appointment, on a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors. Such appointments shall be effective from time of appointment until the next AGM. The person appointed to a position will only be in this position for one year and will be an elected position at the following year’s AGM regardless if it is an odd or even year.

If absolutely necessary, a board member can be replaced by a paid employee providing that the club can financially afford such salary and the board approves this in a vote at any board meeting.

Section 5 – Meetings:

Annual General Meeting:

Held at the completion of the current playing season. The location, date & time will be published at the beginning of the calendar year or as soon as practicable.

Special General Meeting:

May be called at any time by the President

Must be called within 14 days of a written request signed by 11 active voting members.

Only the problem under consideration may be debated at a special general meeting

Voting & Quorum:

All voting members present, except the President, shall have one vote.

The President shall exercise his voting right only in the event of a tie vote.

The President, both Vice Presidents and the Finance Director. will be the signing officers of the Club. Cheques shall require the signatures of two (2)-signing officers who have no blood, familial or domestic relationship. The Administrator may be a second signature for amounts not exceeding $500.

Section 7 – Resignations:

Any member resigning from the Senior Board of Directors or the Board of Directors must submit their resignation in writing to the Club President. This should occur 2 weeks prior to their resignation date.

Any Board member that condemns another executive or their work in an unacceptable manner will be called to appear by the MHYSC discipline subcommittee who will determine if they will remain on the board. A written apology may be required.

If it is evident that any member of the board of directors have abandoned their position for no apparent reason; they will be asked to step down by the president of the club. There will be a 30 day period allowed to confirm the abandonment of the board member’s position.

A Board Member must attend a minimum of 75% of the scheduled meetings per annum. If any executive is absent 5 consecutive meetings, they may be asked to resign their position.

Section 8 - Financial Year:

The financial year will be October 1st to September 30th.

Section 9 - Player Allocation Procedure:

In an effort to have balanced teams, the following procedures will be followed for all Recreational teams and teams participating in West Wentworth Interlock Soccer League (WWISL):

Allocation position and rotation are determined by the teams colour sequences.

Any coach that does not have any protects shall be allowed a maximum of two (2) players from that coach’s previous year’s team.

Registrants will be assigned to teams, in accordance with the player's evaluation on record from the previous year, major or minor (in full field divisions) and will be processed using the current software the club is using for registration purposes.

Coaches and Assistant Coaches will have their children assigned to their team. Brothers and sisters will be assigned to the same team. Sponsors children will be assigned to their sponsored team. These are considered “Player Protects”. Only 2 (two) player protects are allowed per coach or sponsor. A protect is considered a son, daughter, niece, nephew, cousin or a grandchild.

Teams with less than a full roster (i.e. 15 players-full field & 11 players’ mini- soccer) will have players assigned to them as they are registered with the Club.

One (1) player trade per team may be allowed at the discretion of the Board of Directors. A player may only be moved up one age group, but in no circumstance shall be moved down from his/her age group.

The club shall have the right to reallocate or add players to or from any club team at the club’s discretion for the purpose of meaningful competition. Realignment of rebalancing of teams may occur within the first 3 weeks of play. The decision to realign will be made and carried out by the Club Head Coach in conjunction with the appropriate members of the Club’s Board of Directors.

Section 10 - Competitive Teams:

a) Competitive teams are considered any team not part of the Recreational schedule and registered with the Club.

Section 11 – Tenders and Purchases:

Tenders for uniforms, equipment, trophies, photographs, and all major expenditures (over $5,000), should be requested from three (3) suppliers annually, where available or if an agreement is in place, at expiration of agreement.

The Club office should have copies of all tenders and a list of suppliers prior to being presented at any board meetings.

Purchases over $500 require the approval of the Board of Directors.

Section 12 - Constitutional Amendments:

All proposed amendments to the constitution shall be forwarded to the Club Secretariat one (1) month prior to the AGM.

Amendments will be reviewed by the Board of Directors prior the AGM, in order to give their view to the membership, prior to voting at the AGM.

Members will receive their copies of these amendments at the AGM. Hard or soft copies will be distributed 2 weeks prior to the AGM via the club’s Official website

Amendments may only be put forward, by the Club's voting members.

Section 13 – Directors and Officers Liability Insurance:

a) Every member of the Executive for Mount Hamilton Youth Soccer Club shall be indemnified by The Club against all cost, losses and expenses incurred by them respectively in or about the discharge of their respective duties, except those which happen as a result of their own neglect or defaults. (For details see the Clubs Directors and Officers Liability Insurance forms.)

Section 14 – Club Head Coach:

a) The Club Head Coach will work under the direction of a steering committee comprised of a minimum of 3 (three) members. Two (2) of this steering committee must be from the Board of Directors and any other member of this committee will be a member in good standing of the MHYSC

Section 15 – Administration Staff:

The Senior Board of Directors are to ensure that ALL tasks are completed by the administration staff that are paid by the club. The Board of Directors may hire as many employees necessary provided the club can afford the salaries paid out and/or it has been included in the current year’s budget.

The Board of Directors are to ensure that a balance of responsibilities is completed by the administrator(s).

The administrator is primarily responsible for duties provided by the President and the Vice Presidents.

The administrator(s) responsibilities will be detailed in the most current Job Description and Organizational Chart as set out in Section 16.

Section 17 - Members responsibility:

Any member of the Club under investigation for unlawfully profiting or taking unfair advantage of Mount Hamilton Youth Soccer Club shall be temporarily suspended from the Club. If the member is proven guilty of such undertaking he/she shall be permanently dismissed from the Club. Further action may be taken, if deemed necessary by the Board of Directors.

It is with mixed emotions we inform you that Aleks Balta, our Technical Director is leaving Mount Hamilton to accept an opportunity with Hamilton United as their Technical Director. While we are sad to lose Aleks, we are tremendously happy for him as he continues along the coaching pathway towards his career objectives.

Mount Hamilton is proud of our legacy of development not just with players and officials, but also coaches and staff. We were the first club in Hamilton to have a full-time Club Head Coach and Technical Director when we hired Carl Horton back in 2008, Aleks joined MHYSC in 2015 as our second Club Head Coach and Technical Director after Carl moved on to an opportunity at that time with Ontario Soccer.

During Aleks tenure, MHYSC’s Academy became the premier development environment for talented young soccer players under the ages of 12 in the Hamilton District. A significant number of the players playing OPDL and Regional level soccer with Hamilton United have come from Mount Hamilton.

Aleks’ appointment at Hamilton United is effective November 1, 2019. The next steps are MHYSC will continue to run academy programming in the upcoming fall and winter sessions with our existing coaches. Our board will begin the process of looking for a new Technical Director to replace Aleks immediately.

“On behalf of the Mount Hamilton Youth Soccer Club I would like to thank Aleks Balta for his contribution to our club over the past few years,” said MHYSC President Mark Fonovic. “Aleks’ passion and coaching ability helped develop many young boys and girls as top soccer players in Hamilton.”

“I would like to thank Mount Hamilton Youth Soccer Club for the opportunity to be Technical Director, it’s been a great experience and helped me develop as a coach,” commented Aleks Balta. “To the players I have worked with and families I have met at MHYSC, it’s been a pleasure and I look forward to perhaps working with many of you again.”